While In Boise, Feds Eye Ways To Avoid Sage Grouse Listing

The directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management say a listing of sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act can be avoided.

Dan Ashe of Fish and Wildlife and Neil Kornze of BLM made the comments Thursday in Boise as some of the nation's top federal land managers and rangeland scientists gathered at a conference to find ways to protect sage grouse habitat from massive wildfires.

In the last decade huge swaths of sage brush range the birds depend on have been destroyed by wildfires that often involve fire-prone invasive plants.

The conference is playing out as Fish and Wildlife faces a deadline next year on whether the chicken-sized bird needs federal protection, a move that could damage the economies of Western states.

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The New York Times reports more than two dozen energy projects in the West have been scuttled because of sage grouse, at least one of those projects was supposed to be built in Idaho.

The sage grouse represents a much bigger challenge for states like Idaho than its turkey-like stature might suggest. The bird is considered an important part of the high desert ecosystem, but it's sensitive to man-made development and its numbers are declining.

The federal government has paid $236 million to landowners in 11 states to preserve sage grouse habitat amid a debate over whether the bird should be listed as an endangered species — potentially hindering energy development and ranching.

After a two year wait, Idaho has released its proposed plan to manage the greater sage grouse. The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service have been working on the plan with help from Idaho’s Fish and Game Department and the governor’s office.

If the plan is approved the sage grouse will stay off the endangered species list. Jessica Gardetto with the BLM says if the bird is listed land use becomes complicated.